Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
8 Lord God of Hosts, hear my prayer;
listen, God of Jacob.(A)
9 Consider our shield,[a] God;(B)
look on the face of Your anointed one.(C)
10 Better a day in Your courts
than a thousand anywhere else.
I would rather be at the door of the house of my God
than to live in the tents of wicked people.(D)
11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield.(E)
The Lord gives grace and glory;
He does not withhold the good
from those who live with integrity.(F)
12 Happy is the person who trusts in You,
Lord of Hosts!(G)
Daniel before the King
13 Then Daniel was brought before the king. The king said to him, “Are you Daniel, one of the Judean exiles that my predecessor the king brought from Judah?(A) 14 I’ve heard that you have the spirit of the gods in you, and that you have insight, intelligence, and extraordinary wisdom. 15 Now the wise men and mediums were brought before me to read this inscription and make its interpretation known to me, but they could not give its interpretation. 16 However, I have heard about you that you can give interpretations and solve problems. Therefore, if you can read this inscription and give me its interpretation, you will be clothed in purple, have a gold chain around your neck, and have the third highest position in the kingdom.”(B)
17 Then Daniel answered the king, “You may keep your gifts, and give your rewards to someone else;(C) however, I will read the inscription for the king and make the interpretation known to him. 18 Your Majesty, the Most High God gave sovereignty,(D) greatness, glory, and majesty to your predecessor Nebuchadnezzar.(E) 19 Because of the greatness He gave him, all peoples, nations, and languages(F) were terrified and fearful of him. He killed anyone he wanted and kept alive anyone he wanted; he exalted anyone he wanted and humbled anyone he wanted. 20 But when his heart was exalted and his spirit became arrogant,(G) he was deposed from his royal throne and his glory was taken from him.(H) 21 He was driven away from people,(I) his mind was like an animal’s, he lived with the wild donkeys,(J) he was fed grass like cattle, and his body was drenched with dew from the sky until he acknowledged that the Most High God is ruler over the kingdom of men and sets anyone He wants over it.(K)
22 “But you his successor, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart,(L) even though you knew all this. 23 Instead, you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven. The vessels from His house were brought to you, and as you and your nobles, wives, and concubines drank wine from them,(M) you praised the gods made of silver and gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or understand.(N) But you have not glorified the God who holds your life-breath in His hand and who controls the whole course of your life.[a] 24 Therefore, He sent the hand, and this writing was inscribed.
The Inscription’s Interpretation
25 “This is the writing that was inscribed:
MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN.
26 This is the interpretation of the message:
MENE[b] means that God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end.
27 TEKEL[c] means that you have been weighed in the balance and found deficient.
28 PERES[d][e] means that your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”
29 Then Belshazzar gave an order, and they clothed Daniel in purple, placed a gold chain around his neck,(O) and issued a proclamation concerning him that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.
30 That very night Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans was killed, 31 [f]and Darius the Mede(P) received the kingdom at the age of 62.
The Parable of the Two Sons
28 “But what do you think? A man had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘My son, go, work in the vineyard today.’(A)
29 “He answered, ‘I don’t want to!’ Yet later he changed his mind and went. 30 Then the man went to the other and said the same thing.
“‘I will, sir,’ he answered. But he didn’t go.
31 “Which of the two did his father’s will?”
“The first,” they said.
Jesus said to them, “I assure you: Tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you! 32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness,(B) and you didn’t believe him. Tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him, but you, when you saw it, didn’t even change your minds then and believe him.
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